I'll leave the sports coverage to Andy, but I wanna thank him giving me the opportunity to be a part of such an amazing affair. Running out on the field, bumping into very sweaty, adrenaline filled lacrosse players... dodging ESPN crews... pretty awesome. I was a little hesitant to go and get my shots; I'm not used to press photography, or for that matter, much photography at all. I basically followed the pack and focused on the few players I knew were important. The Bandits 2008 MVP (which I got to cast a vote for) Steenhuis was pretty easy to spot, he sports bright orange Reeboks. I took some video too for WNYMedia, but I have absolutely no idea what Marc is doing with it. Hopefully he'll put the mess of cloverfield-esque footage into something awesome.. like he always does.
I also decided to take advantage of the new Animoto service to make a little video below. Animoto is a web based photo montage service that uses a pretty sophisticated AI to arrange your photos into a music video, complete with beat matching and top of the line special effects. the service is free for 30 second clips; full length videos that you can dl are $3 a pop, or $30 for a year. Use this referral link and you can get a year membership for only $25.

I made my debut as a media professional this weekend with my first ever photo credential at a Buffalo Bandits Lacrosse game. Andy Kulyk, a good friend and fellow WNYM blogger has been doing the sports reporting for a while. Thanks to his connections with AV and overall journalistic experience, he's credentialed all over and routinely enjoys seasonal press access to Sabres, Bandits, and Bison games. I'm not really a sports guy, but Andy keeps trying to get me to go to a game or two, whether hockey or baseball, and to take advantage of my press abilities (I'm credentialable? who knew?). I agreed to a Buffalo Bandits (National Lacrosse League) game, and sent off the request for a day photo pass for the 4-19 game against the Chicago Shamrox.
I'm no photographer, and I certainly dont own a fancy DSLR (let alone use one), but I can snap a few commanding shots when needed. One thing I have never done is shot sports photography, let me tell you, its hard. I have to give a lot of credit to the pros for being able to watch the whole field for perfect moments through a little viewfinder while manhandling a giant telephoto lense.
So here I go, all shy and completely green about all of this, as Andy gives me a rundown and tells me I'll have nearly unfettered acccess to the HSBC arena, minus the catwalk (damn!). I borrowed Angels Sony Cybershot DSC-H2 for the occasion, determined not to look like a silly blogger peeking his point-and-shoot through a tiny hole in the lexan.
in addition to being a first for press credentials, this was a first for a watching lacrosse game. Andy gave me some details as I sat in the press box with him; I took note of the body favoring attire of lacross players. I decided I like this game, somewhat like soccer with a bit of hockey brutality. After watching a bit of the game from the box, I made my way down to the boards, and started to do my thing.
Two things I learned immediately:

Don't use the boards for support. Bandits fans are crazy, and enjoy pounding on the lexan boards, resulting in a rattled photog who isn't paying attention to the crowd behind him,

A press pass does make you look cool. Might not get you laid, but let an energetic fan spot you with a camera and a press pass and you are immediately subjected to a display that can only be matched by a wild pheasant's mating rituals.

The most incredible thing to me was walking out onto the field, seconds after the game, to shoot a clip of the players making a victory lap (13-9 bandits BTW). The view from the field was amazing, seeing the view as a player would, peering out at the raving crowd, decked in the team colors of orange and black, totally awesome.
The locker room was the final stop. I watched Andy and the other media guys shove recorders in players faces and hang on every word, I relaxed and took it all in. Leaving the stadium, Andy said I did everything right; I didn't tell him I almost got lost trying to find the press elevator. I suppose I'll do the press pass more often, its the best way to watch any game.
Check out the photoset on flickr. There are also a few video clips of the Bandettes performing in between periods.

Oh Hai! I'm Nate and I live in the sometimes beautiful, always exciting, city of Buffalo, NY. I'm not too focused on this blog, but you'll probably end up reading something about Buffalo, my toy obsession, burly bears, club drama, Google Android, and some damn good music. This is my blog. Read it. Cheers.